EFFector Vol. 22, No. 17 June 5, 2009 editor@eff.org
A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
ISSN 1062-9424
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In our 511th issue:
* EFF IS PLANNING NEW LEGAL ACTION after dozens of spying
cases were dismissed Wednesday as a result of the
"telecom immunity" included in the FISA Amendments Act
passed by Congress in 2008. While EFF is deeply
disappointed by the dismissal of the cases against the
telecoms, EFF and the ACLU are planning to appeal. In
addition, the ruling leaves the door open for other legal
challenges to warrantless spying, meaning EFF will
continue litigating Jewel v. NSA -- EFF's lawsuit against
the government for illegal surveillance.
For the full press release:
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/06/03
* EFF HAS CREATED A TOOL to help you keep track of the
policies that determine how Internet businesses interact
with you and use your personal information. These terms
of service (TOS) agreements change all the time and have
tremendous influence on the freedoms you have while using
those services. TOSback tracks changes on some of the
most popular websites, with information about what
changed and when.
For TOSBack:
http://www.TOSBack.org
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EFF Updates
* Enter Stage Right: The "Cyber Czar"
President Obama made initial progress towards improving
federal cybersecurity while avoiding the pitfalls of some
recent legislation.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/05/enter-stage-right-cy
* Apple Rejects EFF Updates Application
A fleeting curse word in a subtitle of a video embedded
in an EFF blog post led to the rejection of the iPhone
application.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/06/oh-come-apple-reject
* Taking Copyright Education Seriously
Significant shortcomings in the educational materials
produced by the film, music, and software industries led
EFF to want to provide an alternative.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/05/copyright-education
* Why DRM on e-Books Will Fail
Conducting optical character recognition on e-books turns
out to be about as easy as scanning in text from paper
books.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/06/why-drm-will-fail-e-
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miniLinks
~ Craigslist Censorship Causes Uptick for Newspapers
Newspapers are reporting significant gains in adult
classified ad sales after Craigslist was pressured into
taking erotic ads offline.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/06/craigslists-forced-censorship-of-erotic-ads-saves-journalism-industry/
~ Travel Documents Now Required to Exit U.S.
Federal regulations effective June 1, 2009, require
government-issued travel documents, frequently featuring
RFIDs, for exit from as well as entry to the U.S.
http://www.papersplease.org/wp/2009/06/01/today-were-all-prisoners-in-the-usa/
~ Cybersecurity Plans Could Threaten Anonymity
"Identity Management" plans suggested by Obama echo a long
history of efforts to curb flexibility of identity online.
http://www.alternet.org/media/140370/does_obama_want_to_replace_your_facebook_profile_with_your_social_security_card/
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Announcements
* EFF at RoboGames in San Francisco
See EFF next weekend at the 2009 International RoboGames at
Ft. Mason's Festival Pavilion, San Francisco! Stop by and
say hello!
Booth Hours:
Friday, June 12: 12 PM - 6 PM
Saturday, June 13: 2 PM - 6 PM
Sunday, June 14: 12 PM - 6 PM
For more information:
http://robogames.net
* Help EFF Go to DEFCON!
EFF is looking for donations of airline tickets and hotel
points for the DEFCON hacking conference, as well as other
conferences and speaking engagements. If you have enough
airline miles for a free ticket and would like to send an
EFF staffer to a conference, let us know, and we will help
you with the process of making the reservation. Please note
that at this time we are unable to combine miles from
multiple individuals. We are also looking for hotel
rewards points to help reduce our overall travel costs.
As a thanks for your donation, we can offer a free
membership and a mention in EFFector (if you'd like).
Please contact aaron@eff.org if you can help!
* Nominate a Pioneer for EFF's 2009 Pioneer Awards!
EFF established the Pioneer Awards to recognize leaders on
the electronic frontier who are extending freedom and
innovation in the realm of information technology. This is
your opportunity to nominate a deserving individual or
group to receive a Pioneer Award for 2009. The
International Pioneer Awards nominations are open both to
individuals and organizations from any country.
Nominations are reviewed by a panel of judges chosen for
their knowledge of the technical, legal, and social issues
associated with information technology.
How to Nominate Someone for a 2009 Pioneer Award:
You may send as many nominations as you wish, but please
use one email per nomination. Please submit your entries
via email to pioneer@eff.org. We will accept nominations
until July 15, 2009.
Simply tell us:
1. The name of the nominee,
2. The phone number, email address or website by which the
nominee can be reached, and, most importantly,
3. Why you feel the nominee deserves the award.
Nominee Criteria:
There are no specific categories for the EFF Pioneer
Awards, but the following guidelines apply:
1. The nominees must have contributed substantially to the
health, growth, accessibility, or freedom of computer-based
communications.
2. To be valid, all nominations must contain your reason,
however brief, for nominating the individual or
organization and a means of contacting the nominee. In
addition, while anonymous nominations will be accepted,
ideally we'd like to contact the nominating parties in case
we need further information.
3. The contribution may be technical, social, economic, or
cultural.
4. Nominations may be of individuals, systems, or
organizations in the private or public sectors.
5. Nominations are open to all (other than current members
of EFF's staff and operating board or this year's award
judges), and you may nominate more than one recipient. You
may also nominate yourself or your organization.
6. Persons or representatives of organizations receiving an
EFF Pioneer Award will be invited to attend the ceremony at
EFF's expense.
More on the EFF Pioneer Awards:
http://www.eff.org/awards/pioneer/
* Intern Opportunity!
EFF is looking for a summer intern to help in our
development and media departments. This is an unpaid,
full-time position.
Projects will include:
-Working on our annual report and contacting major donors
and foundations (40% of time);
-Assisting with membership fulfillment and bulk mailing
(40% of time); and
-Identifying and organizing press clippings (20% of time).
Excellent writing and editing skills, strong organizational
abilities, and the capacity to take instruction and run
with it is a must. Interest in development and/or public
relations as a career is a plus, as is knowledge and
familiarity with EFF's issues.
To apply, please send a cover letter, resume, and writing
sample to: alyssa@eff.org
* Volunteer at EFF!
EFF is looking for volunteers to assist with operations in
our membership department. If you're quick, organized,
detail-oriented, and looking for a hands-on way to support
EFF, contact us today!
Duties include:
* Membership fulfillment
* Organizing premiums
* Print mailing
* support Event assistance
Learn about fundraising operations in the nonprofit world
while supporting your favorite organization in a tangible
way! Interest in grassroots fundraising is a plus, as is
knowledge and familiarity with EFF's issues. Send a letter
of interest to aaron@eff.org
* Open Video Conference in NYC
The upcoming Open Video Conference, taking place June 19-20
in New York City, plans to tackle a range of issues
surrounding online video -- from codecs to content, to fair
use, and beyond. Recent developments like Hulu are pretty
good for the user -- but Internet video should be more than
just "TV on demand." Internet video has the potential to be
a far more dynamic medium that invites clipping, archival,
remix, collage, repurposing, and many other uses. Featured
speakers include: NYU's Clay Shirky, Harvard's Yochai
Benkler, Boing Boing's Xeni Jardin, DVD Jon, Free Press'
Josh Silver, EFF's Corynne McSherry, and many more.
For the full agenda:
http://openvideoconference.org/agenda/
To register for the Open Video Conference:
http://openvideoconference.org/registration/
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Administrivia
EFFector is published by:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation
http://www.eff.org/about
Editor:
Sara Bassett, Membership Services Assistant
sara@eff.org
Membership & donation queries:
membership@eff.org
To support EFF:
http://secure.eff.org/donate
General EFF, legal, policy, or online resources queries:
information@eff.org
Back issues of EFFector are available at:
http://www.eff.org/effector/